4 Ways to Get Your Employees to Think Like Owners

It might seem counterintuitive, but helping your employees feel like they have as great a stake in the success of your business as you do can go a long way toward the success of your company. Hiring good employees who take on a role of ownership in your company could bring in more customers, more leads, and help you make more money.

Does that strike you as an overly daunting task? Don’t let it. With a few simple techniques, you can shift your employees’ thinking to that of an owner, with just as big a share in your success. Here are four things to consider in that regard.

1. Get everyone on the same page. A clearly defined mission statement, with equally well-defined roles for each person within the organization, will ensure that everyone knows exactly what their place is. To really help your people value the company’s mission, it’s crucial to spend time with them. That’s the only way you can impart your business’s goals, and help each person understand what’s in it for them.

2. Make everyone feel important. To many, a job such as a receptionist or janitor can feel lowly and unimportant. Try to avoid making people feel this way. Help them feel like a puzzle piece without which the big picture couldn’t be completed. If your receptionist or assistant feels as though his job is to make sure people want to do business with you, it will seem much more important than feeling as though his only role is answering phones or keeping track of your schedule.

3. Keep people involved and engaged. Effective questions can go a long way toward helping people feel like owners in your company. Use every situation that you can as an opportunity to offer leadership training. Ask them what they’re getting out of each interaction with a client or lead, or what they observe from the way you handle an obstacle. Then, reinforce them if they’re on the right page, or help steer them in the right direction. Show your employees you want them to learn, and they will learn.

4. Give everyone the opportunity to try. Don’t discourage failure. If employees feel like they can be innovative or come up with new ways of solving problems, without fear of consequences if it doesn’t go their way, they’ll be much more likely to give it a shot. Obviously, you don’t want to put anyone in harm’s way, but giving people the opportunity to exercise their creativity and thinking ability helps them take ownership of their own actions, and helps them feel more invested in the overall success of the company.

Each company, employee, and situation is very different, so you may have to try different technique with different people or in various scenarios to find those that work. However, with a little effort, you can easily help your employees feel more invested in your company, as much as any owner would. With a little advance planning, you might be surprised at how much more your employees are willing to give.

And for more information on unlocking the secrets to growing your business, get in touch with CEO Warrior. We’ve got much more where this came from and welcome your feedback on our blog topics and techniques you’ve used to grow your business.